Tag Archives: Twitter

You don’t have to be an expert to maintain a presence on social media. However, you do need to have a strategy, a plan and a commitment to make your presence known. If you have never given any thought to what you want your social media platforms to look like, then there is no time like the present.

Here are a few things to keep in mind;

Determine who your audience is (or who want it to be).

Decide how often and when you will post.

Study the various platforms, paying special attention to the most popular- Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus , LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Instagram. Keep in mind that not every business will work on every platform. For instance, while the first four will work great for nearly every business, Instagram and Pinterest might not.

Choose a cover photo and profile picture that expresses who your company is and what you do. Be sure to use the same images on every platform as this adds credibility and helps with branding.

In most cases, shorter posts are better than long ones.

As much as possible, include a picture as part of the post. Ideally, the picture should be original to you/your company. When it isn’t be sure to give credit to the source.

Be sure to check for spelling, punctuation or grammar errors.

Don’t be afraid to post something that might be controversial. This often encourages reader engagement.

In making a social media post, ask yourself the following: Is it educational? Is it entertaining? Is it encouraging? The more of these you can answer, “yes” to the better the post.

Consider linking back to your website whenever possible. This is referred to as signposting, and provides external links.

Don’t make every post about yourself. Ideally, only 20% of your posts should be about you. Otherwise, your followers will get bored with what you have to say.

Did you use #hashtags and keywords that go with your business?

These are but a few tips for developing a social media presence. Develop a plan that works for you and then commit to it. Need help? Contact Write Away to manage your social media platforms for you.

In a bygone era, we had two ways to keep up with the world around us –the newspaper and the 6:00 pm news. Today, however, many of us keep up with local, state and world events using the Internet and our social media news feed. Consequently, it is vital that companies are sure to take advantage of this ever-changing news venues such as Facebook, Twitter and others.

As a company, it is up to you to see that your social media sites contain beneficial content that engages readers. Your posts might be made hourly, daily, weekly or even monthly, but whatever you choose, you want to be sure your news is staying in your audience’s news feed.

Of course, this maintaining a social media presence can take time and effort. You can give admin rights to people with your company and ask them to be vigilant in showcasing your latest industry news and pics or you can choose to hire a social media management team who can help you maintain the pages, interact with those who ask questions on your social media page(s) and even help you build a larger following.

So, don’t lag behind the times and choose to only use print media, take advantage of the social media and scene and keep your name out there. If you need help with managing social media pages, contact Write Away Copywriting and ask about the rates.

While there are many people out there who do not see the value of social media, as a business owner one cannot overlook its use. Of course, for social media to truly effective, knowing a few basics about how to make the most of it is important. These 16 tips will help make using social media easier and more effective.

Always be sure the content is interesting.

Don’t be afraid to post a controversial topic that is appropriate to your industry. Just be ready to defend/explain your position.

Remember that most people prefer pictures to lengthy text. In fact, 65% of people are visual learners.

While numbers are important on social media, keep in mind that engagement is even better.

Be sure that your company profile is completely filled out, and that you have used keywords in the description.

Don’t be afraid to try Pinterest – it’s not just a place for recipes, crafts and home decor ideas!

Don’t begin Tweets with @whoever as this limits who can see the tweet. Rather, type it as .@whoever (note the period) as this allows everyone to see the tweet.

Schedule posts on Twitter, just before or just after the hour.

Keep up with the changes on Facebook—especially those that pertain to business accounts.

Be sure that your full street address is on Facebook, so that people are able to check in.

Be careful about what you say to people, and don’t bad mouth competition, it’s just poor business.

Facebook and Pinterest, in addition to YouTube, are great venues for posting videos about what your company has to offer, be sure you are using them all.

Post coupons on your social sites—it builds interest and income.

Don’t over socialize…it is not necessary to be on every social media platform. Choose 3 or 4 that will suit your needs and put your efforts into those.

Social media is a great platform for business, so be sure you are not overlooking its power and potential. Do the posts yourself or hire someone to do it for you, but whatever you do, do not ignore it.

Just having a website is no longer enough. Today’s savvy business owner must keep up with Web trends, use social media, write newsletters or blog posts, plus be in the know about the latest advances in your current field. With so many jobs to do, it can be easy to let things slide or to get overwhelmed. How can you manage everything? By breaking it down into bite size jobs, and delegating jobs you don’t have time for or interest in.

When it comes to time and job management, perhaps one of the most necessary, but still overlooked, aspects of promoting your business is through an online presence. But, like other elements in business, the challenges of building a Web presence can be handled by breaking the job into smaller steps. To help you begin building a Web presence, ask yourself these questions:

What do you want your website to look life?

Does it explain who you are or what you do?

What is it that makes your product/service stand out?

Are there pics of your product or services posted on your website?

Do you know what your site’s keywords are (or should be)?

Do you have employee bios, company history or other elements that lead to personality and credibility?

What are you doing about social media?

What platforms are you using? The top four are Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and Pinterest, but LinkedIn, Foursquare, Tumblr, and Yelp should not be overlooked. However, not every one of these platforms is a perfect fit for every business, though it is safe to say that Facebook and Twitter should not be overlooked by any business.

If you do have social media pages, how often are you posting? Social media pages must be used –at the very least, 1-day a week to be of use. Your posts need to not just promote special events and services offered but also encourage engagement, build rapport with your customers and add personality.

Social media pages can be a big asset but only if managed. There will often be people who leave high praise on your page, but there can also be negative comments. Be sure to watch for the negatives so you can deal with the problem sooner, not later.

How are you getting the word out about your company? Do you…

Send out a newsletter?

Write link articles?

Write at least one blog post a month?

Have you ever held a lunch and learn event for local businesses?

Are you involved with local events where you can share what you do?

Take advantage social media advertising campaigns?

These are but a smattering of bite-size actions to consider as you build your Web presence. If you need help with social media, blog posts, articles or other writing elements, contact Write Away Copywriting, to learn how Jan can help.

I-marketing, and link building, and SEO writing…Oh my! The days of simply tacking an announcement on the post office bulletin board or buying an advertisement in the town paper and netting record-breaking sales are long gone. Today’s businesses, in order to be successful, are now required to reach potential customers through a wide variety of marketing approaches ranging from the world-wide web and social networking sites as well as tried and true venues like the printed word. Businesses must implement savvy SEO writing and marketing, a variety of link options, and assortment of ways to contact them-all while making the consumer feel important and special.

So what are some of the most effective ways to reach customers? Well, depending on who you ask the answers may vary, but one of the most consistent responses is that of social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter. These sites are easy to use and offer a greater customer base than by using snail mail, telemarketing, or even e-mail advertisements. If you are not familiar with the business opportunities available through these sites, then take some time in the near future to tap their potential.

Once a customer visits your site, you will want to keep them there long enough to seal the deal. You can do this through effective sales, maintaining an order history, suggesting related products or services or by providing quality reading material that align with your site’s products, services and interest. You can implement surveys or offer feedback forms, provide live chats or a customer review section but whatever you opt for, you want it to be easy for customers to use.

So get connected with the latest and greatest the Internet has to offer, be persistent in marketing and SEO techniques and watch your business begin to grow. No, it won’t happen overnight, but with perseverance and patience, you will see an increase in business.

Everywhere you look these days you are either hearing or seeing references to Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Google Buzz or an assortment of social media sites. After all, with life as busy as it is, getting together with a group of your friends is often a difficult thing to accomplish. However, with the popularity of social media sites-especially those like Facebook, you can not only catch with who live locally, but with friends and family you have not seen for many years.

In addition to playing a large role in how we connect with each other, Facebook, Twitter and other social sites have become a favorite advertising spot for companies of every size. Whether it is Coca-Cola or the mom and pop computer store downtown, people everywhere are making use of the far reaching power of social media site, and when you add in the potential websites like YouTube, the numbers are even greater.

When promoting your website and business, experts agree that along with well-used and maintained SEO practices, one of the best ways to promote your business is with social media sites. If you have not already learned to use these tools, then take a few moments to do so. It will take time to build a following, but the potential for profit and an increase in customers is worth the time it takes to learn. You can make your pages as basic or elaborate as you want, offer special “web-only” coupons, get customer feedback and get to know your fans. But no mater your approach, simple or over the top, time spent using social media sites is worth it.

If you are interested in using social media to build your business but do not have time to do it yourself, don’t despair. Using social media sites can take up a significant amount of time. If you don’t have time, or perhaps the personnel, to devote to social media, consider hiring someone to make Twitter posts, do Facebook comments and interact with site followers for you. Having someone whose primary responsibility is to interact with clients and potential clientele is a great way to make those you serve feel welcomed and wanted and can result in building a larger customer base as well.

Using social media is rapidly becoming a prime way to build your business. Have you made your mark on the social media scene? If not, it’s not too late! Do it yourself or contact Write Away Copywriting to do it for you.

There’s something special about summertime! Whether you love spending your free time catching some rays as you work in the garden or soaking up the sun as you relax in the pool, summertime is a great opportunity to unwind. However, summer brings more than fun in the sun. It is a time of planning for the months to come.

Just as the farmer or wise homemaker knows, the fresh produce of the summer must be prepared for use in the fall in winter, the wise business owner is always looking ahead for ways to sure up their business. That may be planning new strategies, finding a fresh way to showcase an existing product or service or perhaps it is to have a stronger presence on the Web. All of these steps and many more are great elements on which to focus.

One of the best things you can do is to keep your company name, services or products in the forefront of the web consumer is by ensuring that your website is ranking in the top pages of web searches for whatever it is that you provide. A great way to do this is by frequent blog posts. These can be something as simple as a few pictures, a video, client reviews or a adding a post about a topic related to your field.

You can also take advantage of the many benefits of social media. After all, with 600 million Facebook users, the multitude of LinkedIn users, millions of Twitter followers and sites like YouTube, Stumbled Upon, My Space and more, you can keep your company in view with just a few minutes a week. It’s up to you.

So, what are you using your summer months for? If you are looking to make your website more interesting, but have not invested a great deal of time in your blog, I would love to hear from you and help you start utilizing your blog post to add new content to your site and keep your page on search engine’s horizon. Contact Write Away Copywriting today to learn how we can help you.